


Also, I love you!

by flitterseb



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Coming Out, F/M, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-20 16:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13150293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterseb/pseuds/flitterseb
Summary: Shortly after they begin dating, Percy tries to figure out whether or not it's socially acceptable to tell Annabeth he loves her yet. In an attempt to reel it back, he accidentally reveals something much bigger to her.





	1. Chapter 1

“Turn.” Annabeth muttered sleepily, and my hands obeyed, flipping a page of the book in my hand.

We were sitting on the beach, the setting sun turning the sea in front of us orange. I could hear the rest of camp, which still wasn't a lot of people, participating in the sing-a-long as cheerfully as they had the energy to somewhere far behind us. Me and Annabeth hadn't participated the last couple of days, not since my panic attack that she walked in on. I had conflicting feelings about that.

On the one hand, I _hated_ being so vulnerable in front of anyone, and especially her. I wanted to seem strong. I wanted to believe I was strong. I didn't want to acknowledge how much Luke and Kronos got to me, even after I knew they both weren't coming back. But they did, and on the other hand? Having someone to share those feelings with, to hold me while I cried and not tell me to stop or toughen up, to just let me sob my feelings out? I wish I had gotten to do that even when I was 12, I had no idea how much I needed it at 16.

Right now, though, I was the one holding her (sort of). She was leaned against my arm, her curly blond hair creating a nice pillow for herself on my shoulder. She was lounging on the beach like you would lie on an old fashioned chaiselong, while I was cross legged, using my knee as a table for the book I was holding for her. I was supposed to be reading along as well, but as per usual, I had dropped off after five minutes, now just turning the page whenever she willed me to. It's not like I had anything in particular against reading when it was Ancient Greek, but… I was still kind of a slow reader, and while I love Annabeth dearly, she went through books like Grover went through a garbage plate.

I paused to myself, and looked out over the sea. Then, an incredibly goofy smile crossed my face, and I was glad Annabeth was buried in the pages so she didn't notice. I looked down at her, at what I could see. It was mostly a mess of blonde locks, except for the few long strands of grey hair we both shared as an unfaithful souvenir from holding the sky. Her’s were just as prominent as mine… Then again. They seemed to be fading in this very moment. I wondered if mine were doing the same right now, looking at her. It wouldn't surprise me.

You see, I didn't just love her dearly. I loved her above everything else. It culminated in every single part of my being. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones, I could feel it coursing through my veins, increasing with every single _ba-dump_ of my heartbeat. It was present in every organ, and even went past that. My love for her filled my entire soul, made it just keep trucking on. Just her presence calmed me down. Basically, I was 100% convinced she’s my soulmate.

I was about to open up my mouth and tell her that, when a sudden thought stopped me. Was that too early? We had only been officially dating for around a week. I had seen all the TV sitcoms and soaps where a relationship was ruined by one part coming on too strong too fast. But, then again, this was me and Annabeth. We weren't that normal of a couple.

...Still. Shit. Normally I knew what to do around Annabeth, but this was entirely new, terrifying territory. And not just with her, with _anyone_. She was my first partner ever, besides those dumb pretend-relationships in kindergarten where you played together for a day and broke up when it was time to go home. Put me in front of a monster and I could slice it apart a hundred ways, but put me in front of Annabeth and I had no idea how to be a boyfriend.

I swallowed a lump in my throat, and was about to just let my impulsivity take control when she muttered another “turn,” and had me do that instead. Pull yourself _together_ , Percy, for Poseidon’s sake. I had just stopped the downfall of the gods, and by extension the entirety of western civilization, yet I couldn't gather up the courage to tell my girlfriend I loved her? Come on, she wouldn't mind. She's probably just as dumb with social rules as you are, you've both got ADHD. No, that wasn't right… Annabeth wasn't dumb with anything.

I opened my mouth several times in an attempt to get the words out, but they kept getting stuck in my throat, and then Annabeth would tell me to turn another page and I would have to re-hype myself all over again. It didn't help that she was an _unreasonably_ fast reader. Suddenly, my hands clapped her book together.

She veered back in confusion, looking at my face. Sweat had already started glistening on my forehead, but I blamed it on the summer heat, even though the air was perfectly cool and dry. I glanced down at the book in my hands, studying the cover. It had some buildings on the front, one of Annabeth’s favorite releases about greek architecture. I clutched it tighter as I stared at it, lips tightening.

“Uh, Perce, what’s up? You look like you’ve seen a _Manes._ ” Annabeth chuckled nervously. If I weren’t currently deathly afraid of ruining my relationship with the most important person in my life, I would roll my eyes at the fact that she was so absorbed in greek myth she said _Manes_ instead of ghost. I stole a fleeting look at her, then immediately locked eyes with the book again, my knuckles going white from how tightly I was grasping the cover.

“Um, I, uh,” I started, trying and failing to control the wildly swinging pitch of my voice. “Annabeth, I…” I looked up at her face, and then couldn’t tear my eyes away again. She looked very worried, which I hated, and it made my throat close up even more. All the moisture left my mouth, and I decided to backpedal. I ran through my brain for what I could possibly say instead of what I had been planning, then decided to close my eyes and just say whatever my impulsive brain decided I needed to tell her in this moment. “I'm bisexual.”

We were both surprised by that.

That was _not_ the confession I had been planning. Oh, gods, I was even less prepared to tell her about _that,_ where in Hades had that come from! My face heated up as we stared at each other, my expression no doubt mirroring her’s of absolute shock, both our mouths agape. Then she shut her lips and cleared her throat slightly, swallowing a lump. My stomach tightened, and I prepared for the worst. I mean, I trusted Annabeth with my life, but you never knew.

“...Me too.” She finally answered. My eyebrows flew up in surprise, but then I reconsidered. That actually wasn't entirely surprising to me, for some reason. I thought my gaydar was broken ever since Rachel came out to me as a lesbian which took me thoroughly by surprise, but I might’ve been wrong, because Annabeth always had a certain... _vibe_ to her. Also, she wore double denim like, every other day, which I had learned from the internet was extremely gay culture.

I suddenly realized I was still just staring at her blankly. She was staring at me, too, though she seemed to be getting a little antsy. Quick, Percy, tell her you accept her- but that's _stupid_ , you just told her YOU'RE bisexual, why shouldn't you accept her? My cogs whirred at a million miles per hour as she started fiddling nervously with her camp beads, and I attempted to find something, anything to tell her. I opened my mouth and let the first thing that came to mind fall out.

“A-Also, I love you!” I piped up, wincing at the way my voice cracked at the start of the sentence. Then I realized the contents of the sentence, and I winced again.

Yes, brain.

That's exactly the order I wanted those statements to be said in, and I definitely wanted to say that now, after we'd both come out to each other. Luckily, Annabeth didn't find it as horrifyingly stupid as I did. Or maybe she did, and she had just gotten used to that around me. Neither would surprise me.

“I love you too, weirdo,” she laughed, an air of relief to her voice as she took her book from my hands and set it aside somewhere behind us. Then she reached up and put a hand on my cheek, nuzzling my baby sideburns gently, smiling as she looked into my eyes. With anybody else, I would have trouble looking back, but never with her. I just smiled, and leaned in for a kiss. She kissed me back, and the arm of mine she had been leaning on moved to wrap around her waist, while my other hand rested right above her hip.

“You better not get fresh,” she warned against my lips, no doubt referring to the fingers inches away from her delectable behind.

“Don't worry, I won't,” I muttered back with a smile, then pulled her closer up against me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should mention that chapter 2 won't be a continuation of this, but more a... Retelling of the story from a third, mystery perspective ;)


	2. Luke Castellan gets cucked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The exact same scene, but from Luke's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will make a LOT more sense if you read my other fic "Luke Castellan faces the consequences of his actions and its kind of (extremely) depressing" first !

After around a week at Camp Half-Blood, I had started wondering if Hades was lying, and my punishment actually  _was_ following Percy around as a ghost, unable to communicate to him in any way that I was now painfully aware I'd been an otherworldly jackass and that I'd like to apologize. I mean, I guess I could start following someone else around instead of him, but the thought felt weird now. I had gotten used to him, and all of his weird rituals and mannerisms. 

For example, he had a tendency to get out of bed in the middle of the night and go stand in the ocean for a few hours. He also seemed to constantly be clenching his jaw unless he was talking, and walked around with his shoulders drawn tight like a bow, ready to fire at any moment. There was also the occasional panic attack, and his more common though less intense anxiety attacks. The streak of grey in his hair fluctuated wildly in intensity, though it seemed to be at it's least noticeable whenever he was alone with Annabeth. It looked mutual. 

And speaking of.

He had been alone a lot with Annabeth, lately, since they officially started dating. It didn't surprise me at all, after seeing Annabeth take care of Percy during the first panic attack of his she ever saw. Whenever he was alone with her was when I felt the absolute _weirdest_ about being in the same room as them while they were unable to see me, and I had actually begun walking out whenever she entered the Poseidon cabin. I could wait outside, or follow one of my siblings around for a little bit, but I was _not_ staying in there while they hugged and kissed. That was not good for anybodys boundaries.

Anyway, following Percy around, I also got the fun bonus of participating in counselor meetings again from beyond the grave. We were just leaving one when I had the thought about Hades, Percy walking out hand-in-hand with Annabeth, and I hardcore third-wheeling behind them.

I had learned through context clues that, somehow, they had convinced the gods to build more cabins, and made some deal about claiming everybody earlier, and it was all due to a sacrifice on Percy’s behalf, or something like that. At first, I was overjoyed, even with my dulled sense of emotions. That was  _exactly_ what I wanted. Well, part of it, anyway; The gods could still be negligent, but at least they weren't allowed to never acknowledge you your entire life. But then, a thought hit me:

I wouldn't be around to witness it.

Actually, that's untrue: I  _might_  be, but like, as a ghost, which doesn't count. I wouldn't be able to experience it, not properly. Plus, I wasn't even sure when Hades was going to draw me back underground to give me my true fate, if it  _wasn't_ wandering around camp in uncertainty forever and always.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by Annabeth speaking up. Hearing her voice still gave my heart a painful stab, recalled the big brother instinct that had held me back every time someone had ordered me to kill her.

"Hey, Percy," she slowed to a stop, pulling him to stand still as well and giving his hand a squeeze. "Are we skipping the sing-a-long again tonight? I just want to let my cabin know if I'm not gonna be there."

Percy paused, looking down at the ground. His shoulders tensed a bit more than usual. Then he sighed, nodding. "Yeah. Sorry, I-"

Annabeth held up her hand to stop him. "Nope, don't. I don't want to hear apologies, because you don't need to give them." She smiled at him, lifting her hand higher to ruffle up his hair a bit. "It's fine, Perce. I promise."

Percy seemed to consider protesting for a moment, but then just sent a tired smile right back. He opened his mouth, but choked on whatever he originally meant to say, and dug something else up instead. "I- Uh, thanks. Meet on the beach after dinner?"

Annabeth nodded. Percy leaned down to kiss her cheek. I kicked at the ground awkwardly, looking down at my shoes.

Later, all three of us were on the fireworks beach. Percy and Annabeth were sitting in the sand, shoes discarded next to them. Percy was holding up a book for her, while Annabeth leaned against his side and read just as fast as she always did. I was stood a good few feet away from them, and considering going up to the campfire instead of staying here. It didn't feel as weird as when they were in Percy’s cabin together, given that they were out in public and the rest of camp was nearby, but I still couldn't shake the feeling I was spying on them. Which I was, I guess. 

I was just about to leave, when the sound of a book shutting together firmly kept me present. I raised an eyebrow, taking a few steps forward to see what was going on. Percy was the one who had clapped the book together, and Annabeth looked just as confused as I was. Percy’s face was... Strange. Very strained, and more paled than usual. To start with he was staring down at the book in his hands, but then graduated to staring at Annabeth’s face, which kind of freaked the both of us out. He was trying to say something, but it seemed like he couldn't get it out.

...Hold on.

My misplaced big brother instinct was kicking in again. Was this... Percy, trying to break up with Annabeth? On the one hand, I knew my head had a tendency to jump to the worst possible conclusions immediately, like I was walking around with an edgy improv group in my brain. On the other, I don't see what else Percy could possibly be so nervous about telling Annabeth, because it didn't feel like there was anything she didn't know.

"I'm bisexual."

What?

"Me too."

_WHAT?_

"A-Also, I love you!"

Okay, that one wasn't a surprise.

I considered the two of them, as Annabeth laughed and affectionately called Percy a weirdo. Huh. I guess... Okay, I don't mean to be self absorbed, but before I pulled my betrayal stunt Percy had been acting like Annabeth did around me, right down to the extra layer of toughness than usual, so maybe I shouldn't be that surprised. And  as for Annabeth... Well, there was no definition for what same-gender attracted people were supposed to look like. I didn't have to not be surprised.

And while I knew they couldn't hear me, I still muttered to them that I accepted them. I felt it was appropriate.

Then, they started making out, and I was  _out of there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the title killed me to write just as much as it killed you to read, dont worry


End file.
